Forgotten Smiles
by chris8
Summary: What happens if Flute never left Sforzendo to be with Hamel? Three years have passed and the story unfolds through the eyes of an unaged Lute.
1. The Prince of Sforzendo

Okay, Violinist of Hameln and all of the characters that appear in this whole fanfic, including all its chapters, belong to Machiaki Watanabe. The story belongs to me. If there is something out there that sounds like it, it is just a coincidence.  
  
The following story is rated R for some violence.  
  
  
  
Forgotten Smiles  
  
  
  
This is an AU Violinist of Hameln fanfic. After reaching the castle of Sforzendo, Flute never left to continue her journey with Hamel, in manga vol. 8. Three years later, Flute has become the Queen of Sforzendo and Hamel the dark lord of Hameln. What will happen to stop the ongoing fight between the two countries?  
  
  
  
  
  
Rain poured down harshly onto the wasted battlefield as the soldiers of Sforzendo searched around for any surviors of the enemy. A four day battle between Sforzendo and the mazoku had just occured here. This battlefield was really a neighboring town of the country of Sforzendo. Mazoku troops led by hell king Bass attacked and Sforzendo troops led by high priest Clary came to defend it. Now all the fighting has stopped. If Queen Flute hadn't give the order to use the new magical cannon, the battle would not have ended.  
  
It was risky to use the cannon since it was still experimental. After the scientists of Sforzendo made the cannon, they were only able to test it once. But now it doesn't matter because it worked.  
  
The magical explosion left the town that was their battlefield in pieces. All the mazoku troops in it were completely destroyed. Just to make sure that all the members of the enemy were dead, Queen Flute gave order for the Sforzendo troops to survey the area before returning.  
  
The troops obediently carried out their duty--searching around the pieces of debris for any remaining members of the mazoku. They had to be careful not to let any of their enemies survive because a war is going on between Sforzendo and Hameln right now. If a mazoku escapes, it will have a chance to fight them again in the next battle.  
  
The soldiers were worn out from fighting. They silently examined the place. Even though they had won this battle, they were still unhappy. When the explosion killed all the mazoku, it took away half of their soldiers and the townspeople too. Because Queen Flute ordered to use the cannon in such a hurry, high priest Clari was only able to warn half of the soldiers to leave the area before the explosion took place.  
  
A soldier by the fallen clock tower proceeded to lift a piece of its wall to look for more bodies. When he succeeded in lifting it, his eyes widened at what he saw beneath it. He quickly threw the piece of rubbish to the side and ran towards his leader.  
  
"High priest Clari!" Clari looked up from his search when he heard his name called.  
  
"I think you should come see this, sir." At that, the high priest began to follow in the direction that his subordinate was leading him.  
  
Clari's eyes widened too when he began to see what was under the broken tower. He ran to the pile of debris despite the few injuries on his legs and stared at what he saw.  
  
Under the stone pieces of the clock tower was the body of a young boy. Two big pieces of stone had fallen to the sides of his body protecting him from anything that might have fallen above him. There were cuts and bruises all over his body and face and dust covered his dark blue hair. Other than that he looked like he had no major wounds.  
  
"Prince Lute!" Clari was surprised at what he saw. He bent down to lift the unconscious figure out of the pile. He was so concentrated on fighting the mazoku that he forgot that hell king Bass was prince Lute.  
  
Clari frowned when he touched the body. It was cold and lifeless.  
  
"Is he dead?" asked the soldier that led him there.  
  
"Yes... but Queen Horn told me before that prince Lute's soul got removed. Maybe that is why his body is lifeless."  
  
"But then where is his soul?" The soldier looked at his leader waiting for an answer.  
  
Clari thought for awhile then responded. "If I remembered correctly, Queen Horn said it was inside the left eye-patch of Bass' head."  
  
After carefully placing down Lute's body, Clari started to look around the broken clock tower for Bass' head. Soon, after, removing a few pieces of stone, a faint glow surfaced from underneath. The glowing came from a small pretty orb which was in the left eye socket of a badly crushed head. A sharp piece of stone went through from the right eye and came out from the back of the head. Blood was gushing out in many places. Despite Bass' mangled state, Lute's soul was amazingly undamaged.  
  
Clari grabbed the soul and kneeled by Lute's side. He proceeded to return Lute's soul to his body.  
  
"Is it alright, sir?" The soldier began to worry. "What if he's still under Bass' control?"  
  
The high priest stopped what he was doing. "He won't be able to control prince Lute if he's dead." Then the high priest cast a spell which engulfed Bass' head in magical flames.  
  
Without further intervention, Clari placed the glowing soul into Lute's heart causing a bright light which blinded everyone.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hey, that was chapter 1. This fic was half-written from 2 years ago. It almost got deleted but I suddenly gained interest in it again. See if you can tell between which chapters is the 2-year gap in. ^_^ 


	2. Forgotten in darkness

Darkness...  
  
Why can't I see anything?  
  
My body feels so heavy...  
  
Where am I?  
  
My head hurts...  
  
I can't remember anything  
  
I can't... remember...  
  
...Who... am.. I?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lute slowly opens his eyes only to have to shut them tight when the bright sunlight came in contact with them. He moved his head away to avoid the sunlight pouring in from the large glass windows.  
  
"Prince Lute?"  
  
Lute opens his eyes again to see a tall blond man with long hair smiling at him.  
  
"I'm so glad you're finally awake!" the blond man beamed.  
  
Lute tried to sit up as the long haired man helped him. "Who are you?" Lute said after looking at the man for a while.  
  
"I'm Clari, Clari-net!"  
  
"You may not remember me because it's been so many years." he added.  
  
Lute, who is still in confusion, could only look at him. Clari, noticing that he didn't remember, just said "It's alright if you don't remember now. Maybe your head just isn't clear enough yet from all the sleeping."  
  
Lute nodded then tried to shift into another location that is out of the sunlight.  
  
"Oh, is it too bright for you? I'll release some of the curtains."  
  
After the room got darker, Lute finally spoke up. "I'm sorry to have bothered you. It's just that I feel like I have been in the dark for a very long time."  
  
"It's alright." So he doesn't really remember... Clari thought. Or maybe he's just too tired right now.  
  
"My head kind of hurts..."  
  
"Oh, then I'll leave you alone so you could rest. I need to report to Queen Flute anyways."  
  
"Queen Flute?"  
  
"Or Princess Flute." Clari looked at the still very confused boy. "Don't you remember?... she is your sister."  
  
Lute had a surprised look on his face. "I... have a sister?"  
  
After a long moment of silence, Clari told Lute to rest well and left. Closing the door behind him, Clari started towards Queen Flute's throne.  
  
He doesn't remember... I hope it's only because he's tired. Clari thought as he walked down the grand hallway of the castle of Sforzendo. 


	3. The Princess who became a Queen

The next time Lute awoke he was invited to the sight of Clari and a young woman waiting for him. They were both standing by the window in the front of his bed. The light from the window allowed him to see clearly the woman that he did not recognize.  
  
She had reddish brown hair tied up neatly into a bun on top of her head. She is shorter than Clari and was wearing only a simple white gown that reached to the ground. Looking at her face, she looked no more than eighteen; but her eyes and the frown on her face made her look older. Her eyes reflected the pain she had went through and she looked like she hadn't smiled in a long time. For some reason, Lute felt it very odd to see the lack of a smile on that face. What is this feeling? Do I know her?  
  
"Flu... " Lute tried to say the word he felt associated to this person.  
  
Both of the heads of Flute and Clari turned to his direction. Flute, still with the frown, took a few steps towards him and said, "Prince Lute of Sforzendo."  
  
"I am happy that you, my brother, have recovered." she continued. "But I did not come here to send you my concern; I came here to ask you to give us any information about Hameln, that may help us in the war."  
  
"Hameln?... a war?..."  
  
"Yes, the third great war of Sforzendo. My country of Sforzendo has been fighting this war against the northern capital of Hameln for three years."  
  
"Tell us what you know." she commanded. "You have been there for long enough."  
  
Lute was at a lost for words. He did not understand all the things she had so briefly said to him. "I.. I..." he stammered. Then he remembered something she said that caught his attention. "Are you my sister?"  
  
"Yes, you are my older brother" "The last time we have see each other was 18 years ago."  
  
"...."  
  
"Don't you remember? You saved me and died." Flute said without much emotion. Then she turned to Clari and said "It seems like you're right. He really doesn't remember anything."  
  
"No use asking if he has amnesia." After saying that, Flute turned towards the door and started to leave. Before going through the door though, she turned to Lute and said "I am the present ruler of Sforzendo, Queen Flute." She softened her eyes and added, "Mother passed away two years ago." Then she left.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Clari, why don't I understand the things she said?" I'm so confused "I know what she said was the truth..." Lute placed both hands to the side of his head. "but I just don't remember..."  
  
Lute shut his eyes but opened them when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Clari.  
  
"Don't worry." he reassured. Yes... everything will be alright. As long as prince Lute is here to protect us; just like how he protected me. Even if he doesn't remember, he is always prince Lute. 


	4. A town that never smiles

The sun was shining brightly and the wind was light and gentle. It was a day that we all would consider as beautiful. On a balcony of the castle of Sforzendo, there stood a boy with short midnight blue hair. The boy was deep in thought while he stared at the bustling town that lied beneath the balcony.  
  
It has already been ten days since Clari has found him and brought him here.  
  
Such a busy town. Lute thought. Clari said I am born here, but I don't even remember this place. Everyone looks so gloomy. I could hardly find a smile on one of their faces. Not even the children are smiling. For some reason, children not smiling just bothers me.  
  
A few birds fluttered near where Lute was standing. Lute turned his gaze from the town to the castle. On the tops of the castle, there sat an uncountable amount of birds. Almost the whole upper half of the castle was covered with birds. Some were flying around the castle, while the rest sat on the castle.  
  
Turning around so he could see them better, Lute continued to look at the birds. The birds may go well with such a beautiful day, but there is just too much of them. Something is not right. I could feel it.  
  
While Lute was still looking at the castle-top, a young boy had stepped into the room connected to the balcony. The boy was shorter than Lute and looked to be about twelve years old. He had long, messy, sky-blue hair, tied into a pony-tail. As he walked towards Lute, the pony-tail swayed from left to right behind his back. He was dressed in a normal Sforzendo's soldiers' type of attire. Tied to his side were three different swords.  
  
"Hello." said the boy.  
  
Lute turned towards where the voice came from. "Uhm... you are..."  
  
"Ah, my name is Toron--prince Toron Bone of Dal segno." Toron turned away and nervously scratched his head. "Uh..h.. I wanted to come meet you earlier but there was the war to take care of so... I had to delay my meeting with you until now..."  
  
"Meeting? Why would you want to meet me?"  
  
Toron started blushing a bit. "Aah.. ah.. the reason is because you were my savior and.. and... my hero and my role model. I always wanted to meet you and now I have the chance..."  
  
"Savior...?" Lute was confused but decided to let the question go since he could see how red Toron's face have gotten after saying all that. He turned his head around to look at the town below. "You know what, you are already the third person that came to tell me I was his savior. I must have been a very special person in the past." Yet, I could hardly remember a thing about it.  
  
Toron quickly looked up again. "You are! You are a very special person." he said enthusiasticly. "You were mankind's protector. You saved everyone from the mazoku, including my parents and I." Then Toron gave a small smile. "You were so brave to fight all those mazoku alone. Other than my parents, I always wanted to grow up to be like you."  
  
Lute did not turn away from the town. Even he himself could not believe that a person like him could have done all those wonderful things. He did not believe Toron, or Clari, or Flute that he saved them. How could I? He felt weak. How could a person like me have done that? He felt like he had been unable to protect his loved ones many times in the past. How could I have saved them... if I feel so weak? Then he turned to Toron and saw him smiling.  
  
Lute gave a small smile too. "Other than Clari, you are the only person I have seen smiling."  
  
Lute and Toron's conversation stopped short when a piercing scream emerged from within the castle.  
  
Without further thinking, both ran towards the direction of the scream. 


	5. To protect our loved ones

Lute and Toron immediately ran for the door when they heard the scream. But when they reached the hallway they stopped in their tracks.  
  
On the floor of the hallway, blood covered a number of dead bodies. The culpit did a swift job in killing them; most were decapitated while some had more than just the head cut off. The killer must have used alot of force to leave such big splashes of blood on the floor--all pointing in one direction: towards to other end of the hallway, which leads to the throne room.  
  
Toron looked at the sliced-up bodies and could only think of one person as the culpit: Sizer.  
  
It took all of Lute's strength to not look at the mutilated bodies and ignore them. "It's this way." he said swiftly and started running again.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Flute heard screams coming from outside the throne room. "What was that?"  
  
More screams were heard while Clari stepped in front of the queen. "Don't worry Queen Flute, just stay behind me." He motioned for the soldiers to get ready.  
  
In a quick flash, the heavy doors to the throne room were sliced open. And in another flash, the six soldiers who were trying to defend the queen were slain. Sizer, with her dark, black wings, landed gracefully on the floor--now stained with crimson blood. She smirked at the mess she made and looked at Flute.  
  
"How did you get in here?" Flute inquired. Over the years, the defense system of Sforzendo had improved greatly. It would take, even a strong mazoku like Sizer, a hard time to get into the castle.  
  
"It was all a diversion." Sizer gave a low chuckle.  
  
"Speak clearly you witch." Flute spoke without fear. She kept her hard gaze on the black-winged angel.  
  
Sizer continued to smirk--her red eyes wide with amusement as she spoke. "The birds..." she stopped to laugh. "I ordered them to fly around the castle so my hawk army and I could fly in without you noticing."  
  
"You and the hawk army...?"  
  
Just as Flute finishes, both Flute and Clari turned towards the verdana where screams could be heard coming from the townspeople.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lute continued to run with Toron to the throne room. But stopped by the window when he heard cries coming from outside.  
  
Toron stopped too to look at what was going on. About a hundred hawk- men could be seen causing havoc on the town of Sforzendo. Lute and Toron watched as the mazoku slaughtered the people, while some proceeded to start a fire on one of the buildings. Screams and cries of all kinds came from the frightened townspeople.  
  
Lute saw a child escape from a hawk-man's clutch. The boy ran and cried for his mother. The hawk-man took flight to go after the child with an evil grin on his face. Without running far on his little legs, a blade soon came down on him--ceasing the boy's cries.  
  
"We have to do something to help!" Lute prepared to find a way to get down as a few soldiers ran by.  
  
"Hurry! Queen Flute is in danger!"  
  
Lute stopped what he was doing. Flute is in danger! I have to protect her. He quickly turned back towards the hallway and ran with more speed than before to the throne room.  
  
"Hey, wait for me!" Toron tried to catch up. 


	6. The fall of the black angel

After taking a moment to listen to the cries of agony coming from her people, queen Flute made her decision on what action to take. "Clari, order the guards to get the cannon ready."  
  
"Oh..? You're actually going to use the cannon here? My hawk-men are all over your city. If you blast them with that cannon, you'll blast your people too." Sizer said playfully.  
  
Flute's eyes narrowed. "I'll do anything as long as I can get rid of any of your kind."  
  
"FLUTE!"  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Toron and Lute. Sizer casually let her eyes fall on the intruders. Then she looked directly at Lute.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the puppet." she addressed the dark blue-haired boy. "You look so much cuter without Bass' old head in your arms. But, first thing's first." The winged creature turned back to Flute.  
  
"By the order of my brother, lord Hamel, I am here to kill you." Sizer announced and held her scythe in position in one quick motion.  
  
Sizer raised her heavy weapon and easily swinged it a few times. Before the rest of the occupants of the room realized what was happening, the floor beneath their feet collapsed. Unaware of the surprise attack, Clari lost his balance. Without his balance, Clari became separated from Flute as they fell.  
  
"Queen Flute!" Clari could only watch as Flute fell farther away from his protection while several clusters of cement blocked his view.  
  
"Now is the time I send you to where you belong--to HELL!" The black winged angel flied straight toward Flute with the blade aimed at her.  
  
Clari saw Sizer flying towards Flute about twelve feet away. He tried to stop her with a few fire balls, but the pieces of the broken floor got in the way--taking the hit instead of Sizer. Shit. I can't do anything until I get on solid ground. There's still forty more feet till we reach the bottom.  
  
About twenty feet away, Lute heard Sizer's threat to Flute. Then he saw the mazoku charge at his sister with the scythe in her hands. No! I can't let her kill Flute. I can't let her kill my sister. I must protect her! "FLUTE!" he cried as the sound of the crumbling floor drowned his voice. Then instinctively, Lute began to chant words he didn't know he knew. After saying the words very quickly, Lute raised his hands in the direction of Flute and shouted the last word. "PROTECTION!"  
  
Powerful yellow light appeared from the rune wheel on Lute's hands. The yellow light shot through to Flute's position with remarkable speed and surrounded her to form a protective sphere.  
  
"What!!?" Sizer exclaimed as her scythe hit the shell instead of Flute. Shocked from the surprise, she failed to notice that they have already reached the ground. Large pieces of cement fell on her, crushing her to the ground.  
  
As soon as Clari landed he took action. He jumped away from the rocks crashing down on the floor and started chanting. A rune wheel appeared and he shot a blast at Sizer, who had just recovered from under the pile of rocks.  
  
When they landed, Toron had to push Lute out of the way of the pieces of cement. Then he himself did a backflip to hop over some of the falling rocks and ran in the direction of Sizer when he landed. After Clari's blast hit Sizer, Toron finished her off with a Scissor Slash. Jumping high into the air, Toron brought his sword down and slashed at the dark angel. He landed gracefully again and turned around to look at his victim.  
  
The angel continued to stand with blood pouring out of her wounds. She managed a half smirk. "You have... angered... my brother... by killing me..... He won't.. let you... get away.. until... you... all... DIE! Ha ha... ha.. ha.." she choked and fazed to dust. 


	7. Forgotten smiles

"Prince Lute."  
  
"huh?!" the boy was startled by the new voice, but quickly regained composure when he saw the owner of the voice was no stranger.  
  
Clari would not have intruded on the boy if he did not have such a sad expression on his face. But seeing Lute standing out on the balcony in the night by himself just gave him the urge to go out and try to cheer him up.  
  
"All the flying mazoku fled when they found their leader dead. I guess that was a good thing." then Lute lowered his eyes. "But a lot of people got hurt and even died from the attack. This must have happened more than once before--people dying and fearing when the next attack may be... and here I was thinking, earlier before, why none of the people are smiling. It is no wonder that they are not smiling--they probably haven't smiled for such a long time that they have all forgotten how to smile."  
  
"They will smile again..." Lute looked up while Clari gave him a warm smile. "They'll smile again once you will start protecting them again... like in the past."  
  
Lute's eyes couldn't help but soften under Clari's tender smile. "But I have forgotten everything--I don't even remember how to fight."  
  
Clari gently placed his hands on Lute's shoulders "You will remember. I know you won't let us down. All the people of Sforzendo are waiting for their savior to return."  
  
Lute's mouth slowly formed into a smile. Then they just stood that way for the next minute absorbing each other's smile.  
  
"You should start getting some sleep or you won't get enough when the soldiers start marching down the street tomorrow morning." Clari released his shoulders and got ready to leave.  
  
"huh? Where are the soldiers going to tomorrow?"  
  
Clari's warm smile got replaced by a grim one. "Queen Flute said Sizer's death will reduce Hamelin's defense; therefore, creating us a great chance to attack--we're going to Hamelin tomorrow morning and Queen Flute will be leading the army personally." then Clari turned to leave.  
  
"Wait, did you say Flute is going into a battle? Then I'm going too!"  
  
Clari whirled around to face the boy. "You're not going. You said so yourself--you forgot how to fight. I won't let you get hurt if you can't protect yourself... for the sake of everyone."  
  
"But Clari, Flute is my sister, I can't let her get hurt. For some reason, I just feel I must protect her... even if I can't fight."  
  
Clari smiled at the boy's insistence. You're right Prince Lute, you should feel you need to protect her... you even died protecting her. "Fine, I guess you could come along. But you must stay by my side, alright?"  
  
"OK!"  
  
  
  
Oh, that is it. I've just turned our courageous prince into a total wimp. But if Lute remained normal, the battle would've been all over since he was so strong. Then there would be no story. Oh well. 


	8. The last battle has begun

"Prince Lute, are you comfortable?" asked Clari, who noticed that Lute had been constantly shifting ever since they had left Sforzendo.  
  
"huh? oh. yes" he quickly replied. The boy was sitting on the same horse as Clari. Along with forgetting everything else, he forgot how to ride a horse as well.  
  
The prince was not uncomfortable. In fact he felt safe and sound sitting in front of the powerful high priest. But it is just that Lute had been fidgeting because he was nervous. Even though they were traveling with a whole army along with Flute and Toron, not a single word was said during the whole journey. Not even a cry for victory or a greeting was said. The only greeting he got was a simple smile from Toron this morning.  
  
The silence made him feel uneasy. He knew that the army was just trying to be serious, but deep inside, he felt as if he had been to many wars before and none of them were this silent.  
  
The blue-haired boy turned to where Toron was riding beside them. He said in a mediocre voice, careful not to break the silence too abruptly, "So Toron, are you prepared for the battle?"  
  
"uh? Of course I am. As long as I have my father and mother with me." said Toron confidently as his hand absently touched the pair of swords by his side.  
  
"eh?"  
  
Confused, Lute quickly spinned his head in both directions, searching for the parents that Toron had declared to be with him. Just then, Toron realized what he had said out loud. How am I supposed to tell him that I call my swords father and mother...  
  
When Lute turned back again to look at Toron, he saw that the small warrior was blushing as red as a tomato. Seeing this, the polite prince decided not to pursue further into the issue and made a mental note to himself to not to pry too much into the swordsman's business since he appeared to be a very sensitive person.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Soon they arrived to a plain where the trees stopped growing and the road became rockier. The soft clicking of Queen Flute's horse paused for a moment as she gave the army her orders.  
  
"Hameln is ahead." Queen Flute breifly addressed the first few soldiers of the army. "Procceed with the strategy as planned."  
  
"Yes your highness."  
  
Lute was no longer paying attention as Clari took them to the direction Queen Flute had turned to. He could not take his eyes off the barren land that was before them. A place with no life and nothing growing on it just gave him the creeps. And for other reasons he was not sure of, he dreads the place even though he doesn't remember being here before. 


	9. The mazoku king

The battle has begun. Another battle in the ongoing war between Sforzendo and Hameln. Sounds of the fight can be heard. Blood-thirsty roars and screams of death were sounded every second.  
  
Inside the fortress of Hameln, a jester mazoku lands down on the floor in the middle of the throne room. He gave a quick bow towards the direction of the throne. His excitement was visible by how he flew in through the window and his uncontrolled laughter.  
  
"My lord Hamel"  
  
The one called Hamel listened from the shadows that was hiding his form. Silence from the powerful ruler urged the evil necromancer to go on.  
  
"Those stupid humans decided to invade us." he chuckled wickedly. "and they're losing pitifully."  
  
"..."  
  
The clown clutched his hand from excitement. "They've already lost one-third of their soldiers, or more. The battlefield is so messy that their queen is probably dead already." The mazoku ended with a maniacal laugh.  
  
"..."  
  
Hearing no response from his master, Orgel knew that there were no new orders. "That is all that I have to report, my lord. If there's nothing else you want me to do, I'll be returning to the battlefield." The masked corspe quickly bows again and jumps back out the window.  
  
The head of the mazoku kind sat by himself in the silent throne room. He was wordlessly listening and responding only when he has to, as he did for the last three years. Unlike the rest of his kind, he was unenthusiastic about blood and war. But the whole of hameln deemed him king solely because he was the son of the demon king Kestra.  
  
Hamel shut his eyes and quietly lied in the shadows for a while, until he heard the slight scream of a guard beyond the heavy throne room door. When he opened his eyes again, a white-clad human has already slipped into the throne. A few more soldiers soon joined the blond man.  
  
"Pondering on killing humans, you demon?" Clari holds up his staff. "Well you won't get to anymore, once we finish you off. Then the mazoku will stop attacking humans after we kill the king."  
  
The usually silent demon king is shocked from the apparent invasion by the Sforzendo soldiers. But he didn't need to raise his voice in the normally quiet throne room and only spoke in a regular voice. "Where did you all come from?"  
  
"Don't you get it? The army was just a distration, luring the mazoku out of the fortress and allowing us to get in."  
  
The explaination was adequate, but it was not Clari who explained it, nor was it the soldiers who followed. But it was from a woman's voice from behind the high priest. The mazoku king widened his eyes as he realized who the familiar voice belonged to.  
  
"F..Flu.." visibly shocked, Hamel desparately tried to stand. He grabbed the sides of his chair and wanting to push himself up but failed and could only fall back in his seat to try again. All the time he was difficultly trying to voice what sounded like "Flute".  
  
"Flu?" Lute quickly realized what Hamel was trying to say. He quickly turned to Toron, who was standing with him and Flute behind Clari and the soldiers. "Does that mean he knows Flute?!"  
  
But Lute's question didn't get answered as a frustrated scream sounded in the room. The mazoku king had not move from as close as his chair for the past three years. The sudden shock has awoken the demon blood that had been increasing within him. He held his head, anxiously trying to control himself, but in the end, he was unable to prevent his transformation.  
  
Sharp horns cut through the attire of the demon king and the scream warped from a human's voice to a mazoku's. Quickly, High Priest Clari and the soldiers held their stance, preparing to fight it.  
  
"Alright everyone, get ready." Clari carefully moved towards the enemy as they saw the horrific transformation--the transformation from a visibly normal human being to an intentionally harmful mazoku.  
  
"Take cover Prince Lute and please take Queen Flute with you." Toron told Lute before he unsheathed his sword and joined Clari in the front.  
  
Lute spotted a large stone statue at the side of the throne room and quickly took Flute with him behind it. Flute seemed calm and unaffected by what was taking place. She stood silently and watched as Hamel's transformation went on. At first, Lute thought it was just a simple "kill the enemy and save the country" operation, but after Hamel's calling her name and by Flute's silence, the prince noticed that the situation is not that simple.  
  
"Araghhhh!" the mazoku screamed as the last of the transformation took place. The magnificent wings grew and spread to as high as the ceiling. The beserk beast smirked and all that was human was lost.  
  
His first move was a quick flash of a hand, instantly sending a soldier to the wall. Clari and the others quickly reacted to it starts the fight.  
  
"You attack from the left and I'll attack from the right." Clari hastily directed Toron before charging up to the king.  
  
The situation was a mess. White soldiers charged up to a huge, long- armed demon from everywhere; with Clari and Toron fending and dodging at its sides. The occassional soldier got hit by the swatting arms and is sent to the walls of the room. But the injured soldiers just stood back up and charged at the demon again. If a soldier landed nearby, Queen Flute would go up and heal him. Lute would stand in front of Flute, ready to protect her from any danger.  
  
Clari and Toron were doing pretty well. Little by little, they were able to hurt the mazoku king while only recieving some small injuries. Their dodge and attack plan, with the soldiers as distraction, was working well and the beast was starting to tire out. But not fast enough for the soldiers are wasting faster and injured, while the monster could still put up a fight.  
  
Soon the battlefield ran out of soldiers, with the majority of them beaten on the floor to the point where they couldn't get up. Clari and Toron started having some difficulty fighting it, now that it's concentrating on them. Noticing this, Flute ran out to the soldiers in the room.  
  
"Flute!" Lute followed after her. "What are you doing? It's dangerous out here."  
  
"I must heal them or Clari and Toron will lose without the distraction." Flute kneeled by the unconsious soldier and proceeded to heal him.  
  
A faint glow of green light from the middle of the black room caught the mazoku's eyes. With two arms, he swatted both Toron and Clari to the side and walked up to where Flute and Lute were kneeling.  
  
"Queen Flute! Prince Lute!" Clari called. But when the siblings looked up, the demon was already standing menacingly in front of them. The blue-haired boy ran out in front of them to protect his sister.  
  
"Get away!"  
  
"Agghhh!" the beast screamed before he slapped Lute with the back of his hand into the far wall.  
  
"Prince Lute!"  
  
The prince of Sforzendo pushed himself off the floor with his left hand. His right shoulder had connected with the wall and had accepted most of the impact from the demon's attack. The force of the impact made him dizzy but holding his injured shoulder, he slowly stood up. He reassured his friend, "I'm alright." But his eyes weren't looking at them; he was looking at his endangered sister.  
  
"Flute!"  
  
The girl stared at the monster before her as the monster stared back. After his assult on Lute, the mazoku made no further attack but remained motionless with his eyes set on Flute. Flute continued staring, not with fear, but with a pleading and a bit of hope in her eyes. The two continued searching the other's eyes and the whole room's occupants dared not to disturb them.  
  
Toron and Clari were ready to help the queen, but they were too far away to make a quick attack. Any sudden movement may trigger the beast out of his trance, resulting in the death of their queen. All they could do now was inch slowly until they could reach it, hoping it would stay still long enough.  
  
Lute's face became pale with horror as he saw his sister only inches away from a gaint beast that's about to take her life away. He wanted to help her sister, but like Toron and Clari, he was too far away. There must be a way! There must be a way! Lute thought with panic as strange words forced their way through his mind, urging him to chant them. It was hopeless and the boy didn't want to lose his sister. So he gave up and let his mind take over and began chanting the weird words that had been coming from his brain out of nowhere.  
  
Flute stared into the demon's eyes once more before she gained the courage to say his name.  
  
"Hamel."  
  
Upon hearing her say his name, the demon's eyes widened and the mazoku king threw his hands up to sides of his head. The demon squirmed, throwing his head up and down, as if in pain--in pain of past memories that's building up again in his head making him go beserk just so he could escape them.  
  
Out of his misery, the mazoku brought a large hand up, about to hit the unguarded queen. Toron and Clari instantly gave up inching and rushed up as fast as they could. And at the same time, a yellow light glowed from the right side of the room.  
  
Prince Lute brought up his left hand and pointed to the demon  
  
"BLOODY DEATH EATER!"  
  
The sickening sound of crushed bones filled the room accompanied with the agonized screams of the king. And Flute stood with wide eyes as the demon's blood splattered everywhere before her.  
  
  
  
  
  
Whew, thought I would have to wait another few years again before I would continue this. Don't worry everybody, it'll end soon—very soon. 


End file.
